Czechin out Prague

After Vienna it was time for Prague! We arrived Friday evening and as soon as we got off the train you knew we were not in western Europe anymore. The people that we saw looked rougher and everything was just a little more run down and older. A lot of people in our group were concerned but I wasn't terribly upset by it. Our hostel definitely saved the experience for us. They were incredibly welcoming and had lots of activities for us to participate in. The first night we hung around the hostel and met people from lots of different places. We decided to make a casual trip out that night with some of the people we met. The few places we went really showed the rougher culture. The smoke was so thick it stung your eyes and apparently the Czech really love fooseball because there was fooseball tables everywhere. On saturday the hostel provided a free walking tour so we got to learn a lot more about the gorgeous city. One thing that I thought was interesting was that because of its fortifications had Prague resisted the Nazi invasion the Nazi's probably would not have been able to take the city. It's something to think about. The other thing that I found amusing was during all the tensions between the protestants and the catholics it seemed that the preferred method of killing important people was to throw them out of windows. It's just like of all the ways to kill someone, throwing them out the window seems a little silly. Especially because one of the times it didn't work. The city of Prague was really gorgeous. It was much older and seemed to have a very distinct identity versus Vienna. I felt that Vienna was very similar to Germany but Prague was more unique. It was a rougher city but when you look at its history its really not surprising. I loved how much history it had and that it survived the centuries very well. The Charles bridge was really cool, I loved the towers on both sides. It looked so medieval and it was more of my style. I broke down and bought a couple of paintings of the bridge, I'm really excited to hang them in my room. I wish we had more time to look at the castle, but from what I saw I thought it was really pretty and almost incognito. It kind of blended in with the town around it, other than the fact it was up on a hill and there was a giant cathedral in the middle. I could be really ignorant describing it in that way but that was how I felt. I thought that Prague was one of the prettiest cities we had been to thus far. Now I have been to 2 of the 3 countries that my ancestors are from. I really enjoyed visiting them because there was almost a feeling of coming home. I know it sounds weird since it's a foreign country I've never been to and my family hasn't lived there for over 100 years now but I still felt a sense of identity. I am an American at heart but I feel that it's important to remember where you are from. My family history stretches beyond just the family that moved and lived in the states and I want to keep in touch with that part of me. I think that the family history that stretches deep into the past is the most interesting. Someday soon I will sit down and trace my family back as far as I can, I want to know what they were doing in the context of world history at that time. That would be the most interesting type of history for me. Our time in Prague was short but I feel that we got a little taste of the culture and it provided a breath of different air than all the western european countries we have and will visit. I wish we had more time in Prague but I was ready to go back to our host family in Bonn, but I was not looking forward to the 10 hour train ride. Especially since I was short on sleep and my allergies reacted violently to all the cigarette smoke.